namco

Pokkén Tournament will be available for testing at the arcade/restaurant chain Dave and Buster's, according to executive Kevin Bachus. This news is somewhat unsurprising, considering that specific Dave and Buster'...

Namco Bandai announced Dark Souls III at E3 this year, just a few months after the release of Bloodborne exclusively to PS4. It's coming early 2016.
And any of you planning on attending gamescom in Germany in a couple of week...

Yoshimitsu’s turned into a weird mix of Cthulhu, a Xenomorph, NiGHTS, and Frieza from Dragonball for his appearance in Tekken 7.
The video released by Namco shows him in all of his swordy, hovery, self-stabby glory; a...

Hachiemon is not nearly as weird as it looks. Natsume and Namco unleashed this GBA game onto the people of Japan back in 2003, perhaps as their response to Kirby. The character, however, was created in 1995 as the mascot for ...

Apr 22 //
Jed WhitakerMario Kart 8
Pac-Man is no stranger to Mario Kart games having been in all three iterations made for arcades, and with Pac's recent appearance in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U, having him as a racer in Mario Kart 8 just makes sense.
Running for president as a Republican
This one is a no-brainer -- just think about it. What do Pac-Man and the Republican party have in common? They are mostly men, 35 years of age or older, greedy, don't play well with other races, and are deeply rooted in religion. Pac-Man isn't the typical white male that leads the party, but perhaps a recognizable yellow face could give Republicans the push they need to take the White House in 2016.
Dark Souls II
The Souls series and Pac-Man actually have a lot in common; in both, you play as a lone hero traversing dark mazes filled with spooky ghosts in a world where the only sure thing is death. Perhaps the original maze from Pac-Man will be reworked in a 3D space, much like that beer commercial, and released as free DLC for Dark Souls II. Pac-Man would of course be a grotesque version of himself that guards the end of the maze.
Pellets, Please
Gritty, dark, realistic games are all the rage these days, so perhaps Bandai Namco Entertainment will give Pac-Man the reboot he deserves. Pac-Land has fallen on tough times and Pac-Man must sneak into the neighboring country of Arstotzka to find work and food, all while dealing with terrorists and extreme hunger. Pellets, Please could be the smash hit to bring Pac-Man into the two thousand teens.
RuPaul's Drag Race
Everyone's favorite feminist already told us that Ms. Pac-Man is just Pac-Man with a bow on his head, so Pac-Man decides to own it and joins RuPaul's Drag Race. Pac, Ms. Pac-Man if you're nasty, will take the other divas by storm. Mama Pac will be a ruthless, z-snapping glamazon that makes up for her size with an over-the-top personality. Drag and gays are so in right now to the point where people are trying to make laws against them, which is what happens when anything gets popular with the kids.
Playgirl
Pac-Man has always been a sex icon. He's known for running around in the nude in his early, drug-filled days; even now the dude doesn't wear pants, baring it all is a constant in his life. Plus, PlayGirl is a great publication to reach parts of the population that are rarely marketed to in gaming: women, and non-straight men. A bit of trivia for ya: the history of PlayGirl kind of falls in place with the history of Ms. Pac-Man, as they were both made as an answer to their male-oriented versions.
An Adam Sandler movie
I'm just foolin', there is no way that Pac-Man would ever have a large role in an Adam Sandler film, right?

35th anniversary, midlife crisisThis year is the 35th anniversary of Pac-Man, a fact that will surely make your dad feel old.
At a recent event in Las Vegas, Bandai Namco Entertainment said to look for Pac-Man to "show up in unexpected places this year." I've thought long and hard about where those places could be and compiled my best guesses below.
Feel free to post yours in the comments!

Four days, 19 hours, 52 minutes, and 37 seconds. That's how long it'll be until Namco does something. Well, it'll probably be less for you, barring the possibility you possess the time-traveling capabilities to go to the imme...

You can play Supernova today. The MOBA from developer Primal Game Studios is publisher Bandai Namco's next push into the realm of free-to-play (you'll remember the Gundam Vs-like 2-on-2 arena fighter Rise of Incarnates). Nam...

Yesterday, Tekken 7 revealed a new character with cat ears and a Japanese pop idol aesthetic designed by Fire Emblem: Awakening and No More Heroes character artist Yusuke Kozaki. Our own Destructoid's...

Namco Bandai announced a touched up God Eater 2, God Eater 2: Rage Burst will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Vita in Japan.
God Eater 2 came to PSP and Vita last year in Japan. Yes, PSP.
It was also insinuated that the franchise would continue, perhaps with a proper God Eater 3 down the line.

In sunny Chiba, Japan, a woman purchased a building that actually ended up encasing a time capsule of arcade goodness straight out of the late '80s through '90s.
Among the relics were almost fifty Sega Aero and Astro City cab...

Coming to PS3, 360, Wii U, and 3DS this fall, a sequel to "an emotionless venture that's devoid of any soul or effort."
I guess Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, which is based on the new Pac-Man television series, did well enough to warrant a sequel.

Mar 19 //
Wesley Ruscher
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (Xbox 360 [reviewed], PS3)Developer: ArtdinkPublisher: Namco BandaiReleased: January 28, 2014 MSRP: $59.99
Since the Budokai series on the PlayStation 2, Dragon Ball Z fans have been trudging through the same tired story on a seemingly annual basis. Battle of Z, as both a positive and negative, embraces that many fans have been there and done that. While it’s refreshing to not be bogged down with the same reprized scenes that made the series what it is today, the utter lack of any true presentations makes the whole experience feel rather lackluster.
Instead the focus is on four-versus-four team battles. The single-player portion takes players across the same locals that any seasoned DBZ fan has visited numerous times, but now with the expansiveness that cramming eight fighters into an area can afford. Bigger areas to zip through and teleport around, combined with destructible environments like rocks and trees, while enjoyable at first only add later to the tedium of trying to finish off a fleeing opponent.
There are 60 missions to fight through culminating in the Kid Buu Saga, but for the most part even when things mix up slightly -- like taking on a single Great Ape Vegeta -- they feel the same since combat typically falls upon the same rinse and repeat tactics. Additionally, in incorporating teams of four into each battle, much of the anime’s canon is thrown out the window, especially when you decide that four Gokus are better than any team with Yamcha on it.
Online play is where Battle of Z is hoping to capture the biggest draw for its players. Sadly, a month out of release and the community is all but barren. In fact, I have only found one online match to date and was promptly kicked. The game allows for both cooperative battle -- that I can only assume makes the mission mode more enjoyable -- and team battle modes.
Team battle ranges from standard four-versus-four affairs to eight-player free-for-alls, and even has a capture the Dragon Balls mode, but alas since I have no friends playing online and with the complete omission of any local play, I can only imagine that these modes offer more strategy and excitement than the rather mundane single-player offering.
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Perhaps single-player missions would be more engaging if Battle of Z felt like more than just a multiplayer serving of the series’ past titles. Combat is regulated to simple button presses to execute each of the character’s special and normal moves. Combos rely on basic, repetitive button tapping and don’t require much skill to execute.
It’s the same formula for fighting the series is known for, and even amid the larger scale of events nothing ever amounts to anything more than isolated one-on-one encounters. It may be four-on-four, but aside from the occasional team up or chase attack, things boil down to the standards that made Dragon Ball Z games what they are today.
The only things that truly augment combat are the trading cards and the ability to issue basic support commands to teammates. Trading cards are earned after missions and allow each character to be modified and customized to a player's liking. Stats like strength, speed, and Ki can be increased to make characters near godlike with the right selection. I can only imagine this leading to everyone using the same builds online, but as I stated earlier online (at least on Xbox 360) is near extinct.
As for issuing commands, they are regulated to different directions on the D-pad. Players can ask their team to focus on fighting, defense, team attacks, or going all out. For the most part the AI reacts properly, but aside from when I asked my squad to go on defense, I never really felt they acted too different. Then again when are fights in Dragon Ball Z presented as anything less than all out?
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z could have been something special with its eight-player battles. Prior games have been all style and no substance and unfortunately the latest is more of the same, possibly even less thanks to its bare-bones presentation. If you’re a huge fan of the iconic anime looking for even more fighting action -- and you have friends who are willing to fork out the cash to join you online -- there is some enjoyment to be had. For everyone else, aside from the increased multiplayer, you've already played this before.

More like Battle of ZzzZzzOn paper, the thought of participating in an eight-player Dragon Ball Z battle sounds like the stuff of fanboy dreams. Blasting Kamehamehas across the chasms of Namek while fighting alongside your favorite Saiyans could be as...

If it's one thing An American Tale taught me, it's to "never say never." But come on, what really are the chances of Super Heroine Chronicle landing on North American shores?
It takes the mash-up wackiness of the Super Robot...

I like Soulcalibur II HD Online, but boy oh boy is the online a nightmare. Because of this, I'm holding my breath with the free-to-play offering Namco is whipping up for the next installment of their fabled fighter: Soulcalib...

Dec 04 //
Wesley Ruscher
Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers (PS3, available through PSN only)Developer: DimpsPublisher: Namco BandaiRelease Date: November 26, 2013MSRP: $59.99
Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers is a fighting game, much in the style of past Dragon Ball Z and Naruto brawlers. Big, beautiful anime characters pulled straight out of their 2D cartoons and transformed into impressively shiny 3D models. In fact if you’ve played any of the Dragon Ball Budokai titles, you’ll be right at home since its developer Dimps also made this game.
Like the aforementioned titles, Saint Seiya presents its single-player campaign in the form of letting players relive a part of the story. Whereas DBZ might take players through different sagas (Vegeta, Cell, Androids) Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers runs the gauntlet of three story arcs of its own. Told through a series of pictures and fully voiced Japanese dialog with subtitles, players get to recreate battles from the Sanctuary, Poseidon, and Hades arcs.
While I would have liked to seen animation from the show intertwined throughout, what is there paints the picture well enough with (from what I can only assume) the voices from the original show acting out through in-game character models all the angst and drama one would expect. There’s a lot of shouting and evil laughs, but if you’re into the spirit of a fighting anime you’ll be right at home. Which transitions quite exceptionally into the actual fights once they begin.
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During each battle in the story mode, characters continue whatever argument that had going on -- though the subtitles can be hard to follow in a heated match -- as they try to pummel one another into oblivion. Additionally this is where the game’s presentation shines the brightest. Every character looks fantastic and is animated down to every last detail of the elaborate costumes.
Hair and cloth bounce and sway to the rhythm of the fight and the special effects, especially the Ultimate Cosmos attacks, are beautiful beyond words. Like summon spells from any modern Final Fantasy title, these ultimates border the line of insanity for some characters (my favorite going to Sea Horse Baian, whose tidal wave tornado left my jaw on the floor from its absurdity). They are truly a sight to behold, even if they do begin to where thin with repetition.
Unfortunately, the rest of Brave Soldiers' fighting isn’t as spectacular. While all the staples of the genre are present: combos, air juggles, specials, supers, counters, and meter management; fights tend to always boil down to remembering the most powerful combo string and then repeating 'til victory. Story mode attempts to freshen things up, with matches that give players and enemies strength and or health restrictions or improvements, but all they tend to do is affect the duration of the fight.
It’s a shame there isn’t more strategy to implement throughout, as the game is real easy to get into and does a great job of making you feel like a god (or I guess in this case a saint) with all the spectacular special effects the game whizzes across the screen. And even as it cool as it looks, the lack of a deep fighting system is even more evident against actual human opponents too.
My time with multiplayer was often extremely boring. Most human players I ran across, who’d spent a decent amount of time unlocking some of the more powerful characters in the game (there are over 50 characters, though a good few are just alternate costume versions), resulted in the same tactic of spamming projectiles and then dashing around the ring until time expired -- or, I let them kill me to just get it over with.
When the action does get up close, most combos are constantly interrupted with each player teleporting behind one another to avoid the full damage of the exchange. Teleportation costs one bar of meter, but since meter is something that can charged up with the press of a button -- and additionally built through giving and receiving damage -- it’s often rare to land something truly damaging on a human player.
For the most part my internet connectivity was solid enough to not notice any noticeable lag. With the game’s simple inputs, timing isn’t as demanding as it is in a fighting game like SoulCalibur II. There are ranked matches -- complete with a league ranking system -- and, better yet, unranked fighting that has lobbies and a spectator mode. Who would have thought it possible for a Namco fighter?
The rest of the game serves up a decent amount of distractions for both single- and multiplayer get-togethers. My two favorite modes, Survival and Galaxy, both have some unique features. For starters, Survival mode is more than just your typical fight until you die or defeat every opponent scenario. How it works -- depending on the level of difficulty chosen -- is players choose, from a list, what fights they want to partake in.
Win the right amount of fights, on a single lifebar that recharges slightly after each battle, and the mode is complete. Pretty straightforward, but what makes it stand out is each fight has its own bonus challenges (like win without jumping or with 50 percent of your life remaining) that if completed add to your score. It can become fairly challenging to attempt some of the harder challenges while trying to keep your health intact to make it through the duration of fights.
Galaxy mode is essentially a single-elimination tournament that can be enjoyed by up eight human players. The fights break down into one-on-one affairs until one fighter is left standing. Again it’s nothing too spectacular, but what made it a kick for me is the announcer that calls the action during the fight. He’s no Jim Ross, and you do have to read the subtitles on the screen to know what’s going on, but paired with the chanting and poorly animated crowd in the stands it’s pretty hilarious.
Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers is a decent tribute to anime series that never caught much attention this side of the Pacific. The fighting is pretty looking, but very barebones; the music is catchy, but repetitive; and all the extra modes while solid, don’t do much to make this title truly stand out. Fans of the Naruto: Shippuden and the Dragon Ball Z fighters will feel unfulfilled, but for loyalists of Saint Seiya, Brave Soldiers offers just enough fanfare to make this worth the time.

Even the brave can fallI’ve never seen as much tragedy in a fighting game before I played Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers. Maybe I should have been more prepared with a fighting game based on the lore of the classic anime, but as a casual partake...

If you haven't had your fill of Black Friday deals, then Namco Bandai might just have a few more to keep you busy over the long winter drought.
Over at their CLUB NAMCO store, a few deals are currently running and are good th...

Nov 26 //
Wesley Ruscher
Soulcalibur II HD Online (PSN, XBLA [reviewed])Developer: Project SoulPublisher: Namco BandaiRelease Date: November 20, 2013MSRP: $19.99
Soulcalibur II HD Online is visually breathtaking. It’s so impressive that a newcomer might not know this is actually a high definition update to a nearly 10-year-old game. In fact, I had to go grab my copy of Soulcalibur V just to remember how far we've come in the graphics department since the original.
From the lighting to the textures that permeate each arena, this is how an HD update should be handled. Everything, aside from some last, last-gen hair physics, holds up and looks fantastic. The Soulcalibur series has always radiated a sense of beauty -- from the outlandishly ornate costumes, down to its buxom and chiseled fighters -- but this HD remake is a true testament to the game’s art style, as rarely do polygonal based games of this age hold up so well.
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Unfortunately, the other addition to the remake’s title, “online,” leaves much to be desired. For starters, Soulcalibur II HD Online’s online mode is about as minimal as it gets, offering a mere two modes: ranked and player match. Ranked mode is typical to the genre, allowing players to duke it out in attempts to improve their overall online rankings.
Player match, on the other hand -- a mode for casual fights -- is severely lacking some rudimentary features found in most fighters. There are no lobbies to join and no spectator mode to watch; it just drops you into a fight then boots you straight back to the main menu once it’s over. If you want to spend a long night fighting with a friend online, be ready to have to constantly recreate private matches and then invite them again over and over. Worse, without lobbies, there is no way to have multiple friends queued up for an endless night of fun.
I’m not sure what the logic was for omitting simple lobbies from the online mode, but it’s a huge misstep. Soulcalibur II’s heart lies not just in its competitive nature, but also in its ability to create a fun nights with friends. To not be able to share the same experience online with friends, in this day and age, is a tragedy.
These exclusions are even more unfortunate as the online gameplay itself isn't very good. There is a ton of input lag that is highly noticeable for competitive players. Sure, it might only be milliseconds, but that can make all the difference in executing a successful parry, block, or combo string. My time in rank matches bordered on frustration as I constantly fell to the slew of Talim and Taki players (the game’s quickest characters) that I ran across. With a game so clearly focused on ranked matches, having fights boil down to who can mash the fastest will clearly disappoint devoted fans once the nostalgia high comes crashing down.
For casual play, the connection is adequate with rarely any actual slowdown (as long as you are fighting someone in relative proximity to where you live), but there is still much room to improve. Soulcalibur IV’s online suffered from the same fate, which is the reason why so many stopped playing long before the series’ fifth installment. Hopefully, the folks at Namco are working on a patch, but with a release this late in the Xbox 360 and PS3’s lifespan, I wouldn't count on it.
If online isn't your cup of tea though, the rest of Soulcalibur II HD Online serves up enough delicious morsels to make it worth your while. As I previously mentioned, when Soulcalibur II first graced consoles many, many moons ago, it was the envy of every arcade-to-home conversion. Packed in the game was a plethora of diverse modes and bonuses to keep even the most casual of fighting game players engaged for countless hours and this HD upgrade contains them all intact (Well almost, as while Spawn and Heihachi are here, Link sadly didn't make the cut).
Aside from the standard arcade and versus modes, there are survival, team battle, time attack, training, and a brilliant RPG-esque outing known as “Weapon Master Mode.” Weapon Master Mode is where players will spend the majority of their single-player time, as it the easiest way to unlock and purchase new costumes, weapons, arenas, special modes (like the Weapon Exhibition theater), and the games remaining characters. And though it may seem like a chore, by today’s fighting game standards to have to unlock a good portion of the roster (something I had hoped wouldn't have been the case for online play), Weapon Master Mode’s fun twist on the base Soulcalibur gameplay -- many of the missions require battles happen under extreme circumstances such as fighting while poisoned or over deadly quicksand -- makes it all worth the energy.
Soulcalibur II HD Online is a nearly flawless update of a decade old title. While it’s unfortunate that the online mode isn't nearly as polished as the rest of the game, the true soul of the game has never looked so beautiful. Hopefully Namco works out the kinks in the netcode, but even with its shortcomings there is more than enough game here to warrant another go with this fighting game classic.

A soul rebornTranscending more than just history, Soulcalibur II was the envy of every arcade-to-home conversion back in 2003. A feature-rich fighter, Namco’s weapon-based brawler exemplified perfection with deep mechanics, memorabl...

Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers' destiny clashes this Tuesday, November 26, when it smashes its way onto North American PlayStation 3's. Released last week in Europe, both at retail and on PSN, the NA version of the game is fore...

Here's a nice, long trailer for Tales of Symphonia Chronicles, the upcoming PS3 game, set to launch next year in both North America and Europe. It's in Japanese with subtitles, and contains a lot of hugging, yelling, and swo...

Namco seems to be lovingly embracing the free-to-play model. The free Tekken Revolution is doing well enough that it added new, original characters. The free-to-play PC and PS3 racer Ridge Racer Driftopia just went up on Stea...

A collection of heroes from past to presentIt only took two years for the thirteenth flagship title in the Tales series to reach western shores, but now that Tales of Xillia has finally arrived what better way to celebrate than with a collection of some fantastic cosp...

Remember that poll that would decide the next brand new character in the Tekken franchise? Well it looks like we have a winner -- the Female Vampire. Right behind her were the "Female Tekken Force" character, and Shin Kamiya,...

Katamari Damacy is coming to PlayStation Network! Announced during this week's PlayStation Blogcast, the first entry in Namco Bandai's acid trip of a series is set to arrive as a part of next Tuesday's PlayStation Store ...

After a long wait, Project X Zone is nearly here. Set to launch on June 25, this Namco Bandai, Capcom, and Sega crossover will feature characters from Mega Man to Bruce Willis. Namco Bandai has just announced today that "for...

At long last, Tales of Xillia has a North American release date! Namco Bandai has announced the highly-anticipated role-playing game will finally make its way to western shores starting August 6.
Initially released ...

Let's face it, the Vita is struggling. But that doesn't mean one of Sony's handhelds isn't doing well. Despite the presence of sexy new technology, the PlayStation Portable is still enjoying quite a bit of success&...

Every Viking burial needs some sacrificial offerings to help fuel the funeral pyre. As luck would have it, Namco Bandai has at least one more parting gift to present before the Wii begins its journey into the afterlife.&nbsp...

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is almost finally here. The long-awaited game may be arriving exclusively on PlayStation 3 next week, but that doesn't mean players won't have a choice of where to grab it. The PlaySt...

Polygon has learned of the existence of a restaurant/gaming fusion project that may interest those of you in the US. The project, initially titled "Level 256" (the final levels of Pac-Man and Dig Dug), will deliver high-end f...